


Homeward, Homeward

by Joanne_Lupin



Series: Trich!Connor AU [2]
Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Therapy, Trich!Connor, mention of suicide, photographer!Naba, shennanigans, v v cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7074976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joanne_Lupin/pseuds/Joanne_Lupin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>So love the one you hold</em>
  <br/>
  <em>And I'll be your goal</em>
  <br/>
  <em>To have and to hold</em>
  <br/>
  <em>A lover of the light</em>
  <br/>
</p><p>In which Kevin Price has a plan, goddamnit.</p><p>Set in the Trich!Connor-verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homeward, Homeward

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted a song to go with this fic, so I chose "Lover of the Light" by Mumford & Sons just because it's such a nice proposal song. Turns out it really fits with McPriceley, especially in this -verse.
> 
> There is some talk about Connor post-therapy sessions and a mention (very brief) of suicide attempts. Tread with caution!
> 
> (The tenses in this thing are probably such a shitshow I'm sorry maybe I'll edit later)
> 
> EDIT: o shit i almost forgot to mention that the plot is based on a headcanon from my conversations with the one and only emotional-roadwreck (formerly elderr-price) what a wonderful human

Before he met Connor McKinley, Kevin Price had never been one for romantic gestures. He’d just never understood the appeal; it was nice in the movies, he’d guessed, but in real life, that wasn’t how things worked. 

Like with his parents— they never needed big gestures. With five kids to look after, they didn’t really have the time or the resources. But when Kevin’s dad would leave on business trips, he saw the way his mom’s morning routine was thrown off without the pecks on the cheek she usually received. _That_ was love.

(Kevin’s first sense that something was wrong was when his mother stopped expecting those morning kisses.)

But now that Kevin has Connor in his life, he gets it. He gets why someone would go to all that trouble to say that they love their partner, even if they show them and tell them as much every day.

Those little things don’t seem special enough. Because of _course_ Kevin is going to schedule his classes so he can be there to walk Connor home from therapy on Thursday afternoons, and of _course_ he’ll schedule in enough time to wrap Connor up in a blanket and make him hot chocolate and sit with him while he recovers from how exhausted therapy makes him. And of _course_ he’ll be there in case Connor needs him to call the director of whatever show he’s doing at the moment and tell them he’s too drained to make it. (This last one is happening less and less often, but Kevin knows Connor likes having a contingency plan.) 

Kevin doesn’t do these things because he wants to show Connor he loves him. Kevin does these things because he loves Connor so much he couldn’t imagine _not_ doing them. 

That’s why Kevin sometimes comes home with a flower, or shows up outside whichever building Connor had class in that morning to take him to lunch, or surprises him with tickets to whatever little shows he think Connor might like. He hasn’t been doing it as much lately. He tells Connor it’s because he hasn’t been getting as many tips, but that’s a lie. Really, Kevin is saving up for his biggest gesture yet.

After what happened to him in Uganda, Kevin has had a hard time thinking about the future. Before everything happened, his life revolved around getting into Heaven, and he planned his future with that as his primary motivator. He doesn’t know if he believes in Heaven now. Everything he assumed before— that he’d finish his mission, go to BYU, settle down with a nice girl, have a job and a dog and a few kids— that was all turned on its head. He realized he doesn’t even _want_ most of that.

When Kevin goes home for the first time since he got back from Uganda to see Jack off for his own mission, he realizes what he _does_ want.

He absolutely did _not_ want to go home alone that weekend. And he knew exactly who he wanted to bring. He was so worried about asking his mother if Connor could come while making it sound like they were just two completely platonic roommates, but Kevin could practically hear her wink over the phone. (He would find out later that she knew ever since he came back home. Kevin is terrible at talking about Connor without sounding and looking like a lovesick puppy.)

Kevin has a huge family. Huge enough that he doesn’t know all of his cousins by name. Only a fraction of them are at Jack’s open house. He loses sight of Connor for just a little bit, and when he finds him again, he’s playing with some of his little cousins and his youngest brother. He watches them all for a moment, smiling, feeling his heart swell inside his chest. 

Connor’s so _good_ with them. Kevin knows Connor’s good with kids— he’s studying to be an elementary school teacher, after all— but seeing him interact with his family makes Kevin do something he hasn’t done properly since he was a very young child: he imagines the future.

And sure, Kevin is still racking up gen eds and stalling on choosing a major. And sure, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to come out to his dad. And sure, he knows that any number of things could happen that could wreck any plans they make. But in all the fantasies that fly through Kevin’s mind there is one single constant, one that’s much more real and tangible and definite than anything the church had offered him. 

Kevin pulls that constant into a closet so that he can kiss him out of sight from any homophobic family members.

And that’s where the plan started.

He’d been working on this plan for _months_. There was a lot to save up for, a lot to schedule. But everything was in place now. Tomorrow— a Friday, which they both had off— was the day Kevin would put his plan into action.

But it’s not tomorrow. Today is Thursday. And Kevin has a very important job to do on Thursdays. 

Connor is especially drained today. His eyes are red-rimmed and his nose is still stuffy. He collapses against Kevin on the train ride home. Kevin strokes his hair and tells him about the dogs he’d seen that day. He keeps his arm around Connor as they enter their apartment. He has all the fans on full blast and a big, fluffy blanket on the couch. He pops in “The Princess Bride” before making Connor’s hot chocolate. 

“Thanks,” Connor says when Kevin gets back. “You’re so sweet.”

Kevin kisses his temple and curls up next to him. “Only because you are.”

Connor gives him his “Dr. Mitchell and I talked about this in therapy and she told me to talk about it to you” look— determined, concentrated, and nervous.

(Kevin will never forget the first time he saw this look. It was when Connor told him about the two times he’d tried to take his own life. Kevin had cried.)

“No, I mean it,” Connor says. “You’re so sweet. You don’t need to do any of this, but you do anyway. And I love you so much for it. I love how you smile when you see me, even though I always look like shit after therapy—” Kevin opens his mouth to protest, but Connor shakes his head and keeps going— “No, I do, shut up. I love how you immediately accommodated this into your schedule. I love how you never complain about this— how you seem _happy_ to do it. I love how you can do this every week without expecting anything in return, now that I can’t do the same for you after your PT. I just wanted you to know that. You show me so much love, and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate it.” Connor gives him a weak smile, genuine and pure despite how emotionally drained he is. Kevin wonders what Dr. Mitchell had said to bring this all on. 

And then Connor says, “I think we should get married.” 

“What? No!” Kevin blurts out before he can stop himself. He winces, covering his eyes. “I mean. Yes. But… No! Connor, I had a _plan_! You were gonna love it! I had the whole day planned out!”

It takes Connor a moment to process Kevin’s reaction. Out of all the possible outcomes he’d imagined, he never expected this one. 

“You… you what?”

Kevin throws up his arms. “ _I_ was gonna ask _you_! Tomorrow! We were gonna take a drive down Lake Shore and go to a show and then get pizza and then go to the pier! We were gonna be on a boat! Naba was gonna get a picture of it! It was gonna be so fucking romantic!” 

“Oh. Oh, wow… Kevin…” Connor grabs Kevin’s hands. “I… You planned all that? For me?”

Kevin nods, feeling calmer with Connor touching him. “Sorry. I’m freaking out. I just… I wanted it to be special. Cuz _you’re_ so special. But I guess I ruined the surprise…”

Connor pulls Kevin close. “It’s okay, Kev…”

“You don’t have to comfort me right now, you just—” Connor shushes him.

“Let’s do it anyway. Whatever you planned, we’ll do it. I’ll act surprised. Okay?”

Kevin smiles. “Okay. Maybe it’ll be better this way, anyway. I won’t be nervous all day. I already know what the answer’ll be.”

“Don’t be too sure. If tomorrow sucks, I might have to change my mind…”

Kevin swats him playfully. “Ha ha. Do you want the ring now, or—?”

“YOU GOT A RING?!” Connor yelps.

“Of course I did, silly!”

“Go get it go get it go get it!” Connor pulls Kevin back before he can get up properly. “No. Wait. I wanna be surprised.”

“I dunno if you'll like it…” Kevin bites his lip. 

“I’m sure it’s wonderful,” Connor soothes, bringing Kevin in for a kiss. “You’re wonderful.”

“So are you,” Kevin says.

Connor kisses him again.

-o0o-

It ends up being a wonderful day. 

It also ends up being full of surprises, anyway, because Kevin didn’t tell Connor that they would be driving down Lake Shore in a limo, or that the show they were seeing was “Hamilton,” (Connor literally screams when he finds out) or that Kevin had managed to find the tiny little pizza place they’d been to on their first date in Chicago. 

The sun is just about to set. They’re on the boat. A few tourists hang off the rails, watching the lake pass. Kevin presses his lips to Connor’s cheek. “Are you ready?” he whispers.

“As I’ll ever be,” Connor whispers back.

“Okay.” Kevin takes a knee. Connor squeaks excitedly. “Connor McKinley… You gave me a speech yesterday, so I’ll give you a speech now. Not that I wasn’t planning to. But… yeah.” Kevin smiles self-effacingly. “Sorry. I didn’t want this to sound canned, so I didn’t give it much thought. But… okay. So… You told me yesterday that you’re thankful for what I do for you. And I… Uh. Thank you. For thanking me. But I want you to know that I’m just paying you back. Because, you know, Con, that those first couple weeks in Uganda were rough on me.” They both chuckle. “Yeah. I had to re-evaluate everything I knew about the world, and about myself. And that’s still— that’s something I have to deal with on a regular basis; it hasn’t completely gone away. But there’s always one thing I can count on, Connor. And that’s you. You’re always there, and you’re always so sweet and encouraging. And you inspire me, too. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen you work your ass off for a show where you’re just in the chorus. Or the number of times I’ve seen you come back from a really hard session and refuse to stay home from rehearsal. And, God, Connor, I would be so blessed to stand by you for the rest of my life. I really would. So…” Kevin is crying (just a little) as pulls out the ring box. The ring inside is beautiful: two intertwining bands of rose gold, with alternating white and pink diamonds set inside the gaps. 

“Kevin Price, this must’ve cost a fortune!” Connor yelps. He’s crying, too. 

“Shh, I’m proposing,” Kevin says, grinning proudly in spite of himself. “Anyway. Connor McKinley, will you marry me?”

“YES!” Connor replies before Kevin can even get the entire proposal out. Kevin grins, sliding the ring onto Connor’s finger. Connor grabs Kevin by his lapels and kisses him. They hear a squeal and turn to see Nabulungi grinning behind her camera.

“You two are so cute!” she says, giggling.

“Thanks for ruining the moment,” Kevin says, mostly teasing.

“Oh, no! That wasn’t me!”

“Then who—?”

Kevin’s question is answered when he and Connor are wrapped in a gigantic hug. 

“BUDDY!” Arnold cries.

“Hey, Arn. Where’d you come from?”

“I couldn’t stay home while my best buddy in the whole world popped the question, could I?”

Kevin laughs. “I guess not.”

Naba joins them for one big group hug. It’s not quite what Kevin had planned, but he’s happy they’re there.

-o0o-

They’re in bed, sweaty and naked after some _incredible_ post-proposal sex, and Kevin rolls over to see Connor admiring his ring in the moonlight.

“It’s not too much?” he asks, resting his head on Connor’s chest. 

“Of course not. Who do you think you’re marrying?” Connor grins widely. Kevin grins, too.

“We’re getting married.”

“We are.”

“I can’t believe it.”

Connor kisses Kevin’s forehead. “Believe it, mister. Soon, you’ll be stuck with me.”

“Good.” Kevin scoots up and kisses him on the mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”


End file.
